So none of it was real, which we knew, and Yellow Guy's father is behind it all, which a lot of people already guessed, but there's still a lot to untangle. I'm assuming the "real" world sequence was Yellow Guy's father punishing Red Guy for his apathy and "boring" mindset (which means Red Guy never actually escaped), in the same vein as Duck Guy's brutal murder was punishment for not paying attention and trying to escape. Or approaching him from a different angle to make him appreciate the lessons, perhaps; obviously, it worked. But why was he teaching / tormenting his son and the friends thereof in the first place? Did they need to be taught, or is he just an evil asshole with something to gain?
Further questions and loose ends:
- If this world is in an unending cycle, as the June 19th / June 20th thing indicates, why does unplugging the simulation reset everyone in it? Is it not actually a simulation? Is his father controlling reality, or are there infinite layers?
- What was the big deal with Red Guy calling the phone inside the food / health lesson, and how does that line up with the Red Guy World sequence and the machine revelation? How did we get from A to B there?
- If Red Guy's central character flaw -- apathy and boredom -- was finally overcome by him taking initiative with everything here, why is he still in the cycle? Did that just not matter? Is that not the point?
- Is there any meaning to the weird tidbits that seemed to have greater purpose, like the man setting Malcolm on fire in the credits of 3 or the motion-capture reenactments of the lessons in 4?
- If the dates are the numbers of cycles, what happened during the first 18? Or is the month more significant, and it actually goes day by day for months and years, in which case it would be impossible to guess how many times they've repeated themselves?
- What the hell is the significance behind it all?